Gabriela Annjane "Ella" Umali Cruz (; born August 17, 1996) is a Filipino actress. She played the title character in the 2012 fantasy drama ''

Aryana In the Greco-Roman world, Ariana was a geographical term referring to a general area of land between Central Asia and the Indus River. Situated far to the east in the Achaemenid Empire, it covered a number of satrapies spanning what is today th ...

''.

Career

She started her career on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

in 2006, her first project being ''

Majika () is a 2006 Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Mac Alejandre and Eric Quizon, it stars Angel Locsin and Dennis Trillo. It premiered on March 20, 2006 on the network's Telebabad line up. The serie ...

''. Cruz moved to rival network,

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

in 2007. In 2009, she returned to GMA Network for ''

Panday Kids '' Kids'' () is a 2010 Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is a television sequel to the 2009 film '' Ang Panday''. Directed by Mike Tuviera and Dominic Zapata, it stars Sabrina Man, Buboy Villar an ...

'' and ''

Ilumina The Ilumina Festival is an annual chamber music festival held in Brazil. The festival combines the objective of producing high-end classical music with a deep-rooted social mission. Professional soloists from multiple nationalities converge in a s ...

''. She once again moved to ABS-CBN to appear in ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya (, abbreviated as ''MMK'') is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, its first iteration was aired from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022. It is the longest ...

'', Cruz made another return to GMA Network in 2011, but later quickly moved to TV5 for ''Inday Wanda'', but officially transferred to ABS-CBN and

Star Magic ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is a Philippine talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Founded in 1992, Star Magic ha ...

as a contract artist. She was known for playing the teen character of

Cristine Reyes Ara Cristine Pascual Klenk (born February 5, 1989) is a Filipino actress. She has been dubbed as the "Ultimate Star" by the local media for her acting prowess and popularity. Her films have collectively earned ₱1.05 billion, making her one o ...

in the TV series '' Dahil sa Pag-ibig''. Cruz was often paired with

Francis Magundayao Francis Elmer Cabalteja Magundayao (born May 14, 1999) is a Filipino actor and commercial model. He was first known as Iking in the series, ''Darna''. He is also known for portraying young Travis (adult version portrayed by Gerald Anderson) in ...

who played the teen

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino actor, model, singer, television host, comedian and film producer. Pascual began a career in 1993 after landing a bit role in the film ''The Vizconde Massacre Story (God Help ...

in the same TV series. She starred in ''

'' as Philippines' first teen mermaid. She also played as a teen mom in ''

Bagito ''Bagito'' (lit. ''Novice'') is a Philippine television drama teen series broadcast by ABS-CBN. The series is based of Wattpad series of the same title by Noreen Capili. Directed by Onat A. Diaz and Jojo A. Saguin, it stars Nash Aguas, Alexa Il ...

''. She starred in several shows on TV5 like ''#ParangNormal Activity'' and played the role of Avah Chen in TV5's ''Wattpad Presents: Avah Maldita (Oh! Aarte pa?)''. She also became a host in a Sunday variety show, ''

Happy Truck HAPPinas ''Happy Truck HAPPinas'' is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by TV5. It aired from March 6 to May 1, 2016, replacing ''Movie Max 5'' and was replaced by ''Movie Max 5''. It is mainly presented by Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs, Der ...

''. Cruz made her last appearance as part of the Kapamilya Family in ''

Ipaglaban Mo ''Ipaglaban Mo!'' (), also known as ''Kapag Nasa Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo!'' or ''Kapag May Katwiran... Ipaglaban Mo!'', is a Philippine television public service and advocacy-driven legal drama anthology show broadcast by IBC, ABS-CBN, RPN, G ...

'' in 2016. She recently became popular when a video of her dancing to "

Twerk It Like Miley "Twerk It Like Miley" (officially on cover as #TwerkItLikeMiley) is a song by American singer Brandon Beal featuring Danish singer Christopher. The song produced by Danish DJ Hedegaard was released on May 5, 2014 on Universal Music Denmark and T ...

" turned viral on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. In 2017, she got her very first leading role in her movie ''Fangirl, Fanboy'' with

Julian Trono Julian Marcus Daang Trono (born September 16, 1997) is a Filipino actor, dancer, choreographer and media personality. He is a contract artist of Viva Artists Agency. Trono has since moved to Viva Artist Agency and acts in a romantic pairing with ...

. Within the same year, she alongside Trono published a book, under VRJ Books Publishing, entitled ''Jump In'' where past photos and stories of their love team, JulianElla, can be found, as well as some of the poems that Trono made for her on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Also, Cruz and her team Daphny Red and Eunice Creus were the representative in a Jakarta Indonesia Competition with South Korean girl group

Blackpink Blackpink (, stylized in all caps or as BLɅϽKPIИK) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group is composed of four members: Jisoo, Jennie (singer), Jennie, Rosé (singer), Rosé, and Lisa (rapper), Lisa. Regarded by ...

. In 2019, she returned to the Kapamilya network and is currently appearing as Lisa in ''

FPJ's Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (international title: ''Brothers''; ) is a Philippine television drama action series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. The series is based on the 1996 Philippine film of the same title. Directed by Ma ...

''. In 2022, she was cast to play the role of

Irene Marcos Irene Romualdez Marcos-Araneta (; born Maria Victoria Irene Romualdez Marcos; September 16, 1960) is the third child of the late former president Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos. Her brother Bongbong Marcos is the current ...

in the film ''Maid in Malacañang'', a

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

telling an alternative account of the last 72 hours of the

Marcos family The Marcos family ( , , ) is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Phi ...

in the

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

before their exile to Hawaii in the wake of the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in 1986. The film is directed by

Darryl Yap Darryl Ray Spyke Balingit Yap (born January 7, 1987) is a Filipino film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Early life and education Yap was born in Olongapo, Zambales to his parents who are school teachers. He graduated in Manil ...

and produced by

Viva Films Viva Films, Inc. (also known as Viva Films, stylized as VIVA Films) is a Philippine film production and distribution company owned by Viva Communications. It was founded in 1981 by Vic del Rosario Jr. and his sister Tess Cruz. Viva Films is o ...

. During an interview with

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

on July 2, 2022, in the context of the film, she described Philippine history as "'' tsismis''" (gossip), calling it "filtered" and "biased", drawing controversy from Filipinos on social media. She is currently a freelancer signed to Viva Artists Agency.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Ella 1996 births Living people ABS-CBN people Actresses from Bulacan Filipino child actresses Filipino film actresses Goin' Bulilit cast members Filipino television actresses GMA Network (company) people Star Magic TV5 Network people Viva Artists Agency